Apple Emerges Victorious In Patent Trial Against Samsung

In what was billed the "patent trial of the century," Apple emerged victorious in its fight against Samsung.

A federal grand jury in San Jose, Calif. quickly worked through a 20-page verdict form, finding that Samsung violated many of Apple's patents, handing the Cupertino tech behemoth a major victory and a little more than $1 billion in damages.

Perhaps what makes it clearer is that the jury did not award Samsung any damages on any of its counter claims.

All Things D reports that the jury found Samsung violated utility patents as well as design patents. It found that some of the infringements were "willful."

All Things D adds:

"It wasn't a clean sweep as the seven man, two woman jury did find in Samsung's favor on some patents as to a handful of the 20-something phones and tablets that Apple had accused Samsung of infringing. However, the jury found in Apple's favor on a number of Samsung's most popular phones.

"The verdict, which will no doubt be appealed, is being delivered at the San Jose Federal Courthouse on Friday afternoon."

What happens next is unclear, but it is certain to rile the mobile market. Reuters reports that the verdict "could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products and will likely solidify Apple's dominance of the exploding mobile computing market."

This decision may also lead to further litigation against other smartphone companies.

Update at 9:55 p.m. ET. Devices May Start To Look Different:

As part of the fallout from this case, The Verge reports, there will likely be lots of changes to user interface technology across the Android operating system:

"... most companies have already moved away from the bounceback scrolling behavior protected by the Apple patent in this case, and we're sure to see tap-to-zoom and multitouch scrolling behavior affected on new devices as well. We're also sure to see new handsets adopt highly differentiated designs, as Apple has proven both its design patent and trade dress claims are strong enough to persuade a jury."

This case does not deal with the most recent Samsung products; Koh is scheduled to preside over a second patent case on newer products in 2014, according to the Mercury News.

"The trial dealt only with an older line of Samsung smartphones and tablets, reflecting the fact that such patent feuds often lag behind the release of new technology."

The jury has awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages. This verdict is still being read and Samsung may receive damages, too.

Update at 7:03 p.m. ET. A Ruling For Apple:

In its first look at the verdict, the AP says the jury has ruled in favor of Apple.

That's the thinking of Ina Fried at All Things D, who says that the jury has found that Samsung violated Apple's patents with many, but not all of its phones.

Fried reports:

"In at least some cases, the infringement was found to be willful, which could lead the judge to raise the amount of damages awarded to Apple.

"It wasn't a clean sweep as the jury did find in Samsung's favor on some patents as to a handful of the 20-something phones and tablets that Apple had accused Samsung of infringing. However, the jury found in Apple's favor on a number of Samsung's most popular phones."

"'What's at stake here is the future of smartphones and the tablet market,' says intellectual property expert Christopher V. Carani.

"He notes that the patents being debated cover both design and how things work. The jurors will be given a verdict form with about 700 questions, and they're supposed to decide if any of about three-dozen devices made by Apple or Samsung infringe on patents owned by the other company.

"Carani says comparing each product to all of the patents will be difficult.

"'For each one, they'll have to have an itemized determination regarding infringement,' Carani says, 'then moving to invalidity — in other words, whether or not the patents were valid or invalid. And then if there is a finding of liability, they'll have to go to each one of the asserted products and products and determine what level of damages were incurred.'"